


Home Remedies

by leiascully



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Menstrual Sex, Menstruation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:00:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16072205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: Cassandra had cramps.  Bull had a solution.





	Home Remedies

Cassandra swung her dull practice sword hard into the belly of one of the dummies and winced as the muscles in her belly clenched. She straightened up and hefted her sword again.

"Stumbled a bit there, Seeker," called the Iron Bull from across the courtyard. He was lounging on a bench against the wall of Herald's Rest. He looked obscenely comfortable, or obscenely something, shirtless as usual and his muscles gleaming in the sun. "Need help stretching anything in particular?"

"I'm fine," she said crisply, and lunged for another dummy. She got in a good few strikes before another wave of pain rippled through her. She tripped on a stone and fell against the dummy, the hilt of her sword banging painfully against her ribs. 

"Not your usual style," Bull said, standing up and stretching luxuriously as she regained her footing. 

"Perhaps I'm trying something new," she told him. "A novel technique."

"I think you're hurt and you're trying to hide it," Bull told her. "Show me on the dummy where they got you with the pointy end of the sword." 

"I am not injured," she said. 

"Sure," Bull said amiably. "You just keep flinching for no reason. I get it. We all do it."

"If I were injured, I would not confide in you," Cassandra said. "You would surely inform your masters of my weakness."

"Of course," Bull agreed. "Just wait until the Ben-Hassrath get my message about the slight hitch in the stride of the Nevarran princess, formerly a Chantry bigwig, now living in exile playing soldier for the Inquisition. I'm sure you'll be their top priority."

She opened her mouth to retort, but pain creased her belly and she bent over, gasping a little. She dropped the practice sword and braced her palms on her knees. Bull dropped a massive hand on her shoulder. 

"You're really not okay," he said. 

"It's nothing," she gritted out. "My moons are sometimes difficult."

"Ah," he said. "Come with me."

"Where?" she demanded, wincing. 

"To Par Vollen," he said, rolling his eyes. "No, Seeker, to my quarters. I've got something that will fix you up."

"Forgive me if I am skeptical of any potion you might offer me," she said. 

"If I wanted to poison you, I wouldn't do it to your face," Bull said. "I'm a professional. Are you coming or am I carrying you?"

"Lead the way," she said, hearing the strain in her own voice. 

His room was messy despite being sparely furnished. She sat on the edge of the bed, there being no other acceptable options. Bull dug in a drawer and pulled out a twist of paper. He shook powder from the paper into a goblet and sloshed water into it. 

"Here," he said, and it was an indication of how much pain she was in that she took it and drank it. The liquid was bitter and there was grit at the bottom of the goblet. She could feel her face twisting at the taste of it. 

"It's awful, but it helps," Bull said. "Some kind of tree bark."

"I appreciate your help," Cassandra said. "Perhaps the surgeon could concoct some manner of flavoring."

"It might take a few minutes to kick in," Bull said. "You might as well get comfortable. If that's possible."

"Ahhh," said Cassandra, doubling over again. "I fear it is not possible."

"Sorry to hear that," Bull said. "You know, there are other remedies for that variety of cramps, if you're interested."

"Exactly what are you proposing?" Cassandra asked, pushing herself upright with an effort. 

"Sex usually helps," Bull said bluntly. "Or at least, pleasuring yourself usually helps. So I hear."

"That is the last thing on my mind at this moment," Cassandra told him, although something inside her warmed at the thought. She caught herself eying Bull speculatively as he leaned against the chest of drawers, clearly giving her space. His skin would be warm from the sun. It was certain to be a distraction, if not a cure. A visceral sort of interest tingled between her hips even as a dull ache crept down her thighs.

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. "Read any good books lately?"

"A few," she said. "Nothing remarkable."

"That's too bad," he said. "I'm always looking for a new story. Especially a smutty one."

"How did you come to hear of this particular remedy?" she asked.

"People know I'm not afraid of a little blood," he said, grinning. "Something about different muscle contractions canceling each other out. Who am I to deny a reasonable request?"

"Hmph," she said, looking away, as if there was anything to examine other than his bed and the wall. 

"It's more entertaining than the drugs," he offered. "Tastes better too, probably."

"If you wanted to proposition me, you might have chosen a more opportune moment," Cassandra told him. 

"Would you have said yes?" Bull asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Of course not," she said.

"Then now sounds about the right time," he said. "Right now, I've actually got something to offer that you probably wouldn't get from anyone else."

Pain clutched her again and she bent over, her eyes squeezing shut. She heard movement and then Bull was beside her, his bulk denting the bed. He rubbed her back with one warm broad hand. She leaned into his side. She could feel the press of his thigh against hers. He was more powerful than she had anticipated. 

"Maybe I should have given you a bigger dose," he said. "But you're not really all that big yourself, under all that armor."

"Just...just one of the guys," she said. "Is that not what you said?"

"Out there, sure," he said. "In here, you're a friend in pain."

Heat rose in her as he kept caressing her back. She lifted her face to his. He smiled. "Better?"

"Not yet," she said. "But perhaps I will be. I would like to take you up on your offer."

"Not the offer of more powder, right?" he asked with a smirk. 

"Not that one," she said. 

"Then let's get you out of that armor and see if you still feel like one of the guys," he said in a low rumble that resonated in her pelvis.

She let him undress her, her fingers fumbling at the laces of her breeches. Together they skinned her out of her layers. She left her breastband on; her breasts were tender enough without the jostling. When she was naked, he shed his own breeches and unbuckled the harness across his chest. She watched his muscles flex with prurient interest, gazing lower to find his cock standing at attention. He tossed an old cloak over his bed and sprawled on it, a feast for her delectation. 

"Probably easier if you ride the Bull," he grinned. "That way you know you're in charge. This is all about relieving your pain."

"I could handle your weight," she retorted, but gazing at the bulk of him, she was grateful for the offer. She knelt on the edge of the bed, feeling the slickness between her thighs as she swung her leg over him. The ache in her groin as her muscles stretched to accommodate the breadth of his hips was a little painful, but at least it was a new pain, a helpful distraction, and nothing compared to the searing agony of the cramps. She balanced herself over his stomach.

"I thought you were pursuing Dorian," she said.

"It's a weird time to have this conversation," he said, propping himself up on his elbows, "but yeah, I was interested. I think he's shacking up with the Inquisitor now. I don't blame him. I've spent a lot of time contemplating that butt. Dorian and I never had any kind of agreement, if that's what you're worried about."

"I am not worried," she said. 

"I can tell by the way you're asking about it when we could be fucking the pain away," Bull said and paused. "That sounds healthy, right?"

Pain flickered through her as another round of cramps gripped her womb. She gritted her teeth and sank down onto Bull. Despite his girth, his cock slipped in easily. That was one advantage to bleeding that she hadn't read about in her smutty literature. Strange that it should be so overlooked. Bull's hands gripped her hips to steady her. She could feel his thighs flexing under her. Andraste's breath, he felt good. He filled her nearly to her limits, touching all the places inside her that replaced the pain with pleasure. He licked his thumb and touched it to her clit and she gasped. The friction of his calluses was delicious. 

"I kind of hope you're a screamer," Bull growled. 

"It has been a long time," Cassandra said between thrusts. "I do not recall." 

"That's a real pity, Seeker," Bull told her, his other hand sliding from her hip to caress her breasts through the linen of the band. "Nice tits, by the way."

"Thank you," she said formally, aware of the absurdity of it. Here she was, jouncing up and down on his cock while her blood smeared their skin, accepting his compliment as if they were at court. If she were honest, she deeply preferred this situation. The dress code was much better, for starters, and the conversation much more stimulating. She could feel the ache in her belly still, but it was overwhelmed by the pleasure that flooded through her. 

"I'd love to see them sometime," Bull teased. 

"I imagined this was a single-use remedy," Cassandra told him. 

"Might be," Bull said. "But sometimes remedies can be habit forming."

"I will keep that in mind," she said, caressing his chest with one hand. "And you also have what might be termed nice tits."

He flexed under her palm. "I know, right."

She laughed, letting her head tip back. Heat moved through her body, loosening the knots inside her. She ground down on Bull and he thrust up into her and it was what she'd never known she needed. Her back arched. She could hear herself moaning as Bull touched her, as Bull fucked her, the sound getting higher-pitched as his hands moved over her. Energy crackled in her blood. Her thighs were tensing, but not with pain this time. Bull grunted and abandoned her breasts, his hand moving back to her hip to hold her close as he thrust up sharply. His thumb was still flicking back and forth over her clit, faster and harder as she moaned louder.

"Scream for me," he murmured as she tightened around him, impossibly full of him and of sensations she hadn't felt in longer than she cared to remember. "Princess. Seeker. Cassandra. Tell me how it feels."

And she did scream as she came undone, inarticulate as ever. "Yes," she thought she was saying, and "Bull", but she couldn't hear herself over the drumming of her heart, echoed as it was by the clutching of her muscles around the thick hot rod of his cock. 

"Attagirl," he said with satisfaction. "I'm not finished. Can you take a little more?"

"Yes," she said, and heard herself this time, as authoritative and emphatic as she'd ever been. 

"Good," he rumbled, and all she could do was hold on as he surged under her. Riding the Bull indeed, she thought, and then she couldn't keep any ideas in her head. It was all fireworks: all through her body and mind, all she could see in front of her besides Bull, magnificent as he sought his own release in the sanctuary of her body. Sex for him was a kind of worship, or it could be. She saw that now. But he had fucked her because she was in pain and needed help and he could offer himself in her service. How marvelous. She leaned down and let her lips wander over his chest, her teeth scraping gently at his nipple. He sucked in his breath. 

"Keep going," he said, and she nipped at him. He growled in pleasure. She was shocked to feel herself rippling around him again, a less intense release but no less enjoyable, and it lasted on and on as he arched into her and she tasted the sweat on his chest. She cried out into the hollow between his muscles and he bellowed in answer. She felt the shudder of his body as he found his release. She collapsed against his chest and he wrapped his arm around her, his other hand sliding out from between them to rest at his side.

"Better?" he asked, his breath ruffling her hair.

"Much," she said. "How unexpected."

"Did you think I was lying to get you into bed?" he asked, sounding amused. "Seeker, I know better than that."

"Whether it was one cure or the other, I am relieved," she told him. Effortfully, she raised herself enough to clamber off him, stretching out beside him on the dark cloak. 

"I'm happy to oblige you any time," he said. He glanced down at himself. "We are filthy." 

"Yes," she agreed. She knew she ought to get up and wash herself, but her body was so relaxed, the first time in days she had been completely free of tension. Perhaps the first time in years. 

"I'll heat up some water so we can wash," he said, rolling off the bed. "You just enjoy yourself."

"Are you so kind to all your paramours?" Cassandra murmured, pulling a pillow under her head.

Bull chuckled. "Are you one of my paramours?"

"Perhaps not," she said. "Are you so kind to all of your wounded soldiers, then."

"If only sex were a universal cure," he said. "There'd be more Chargers left, I can tell you that."

"We really are filthy," she murmured. His grey thighs were crimson with her gore, and she was no less smeared with it. She could feel the blood and whatever else becoming sticky as it cooled, and was grateful for the prospect of a bath. 

"I've cleaned up plenty of blood before," he said. "This is the most enjoyable kind."

"From your perspective," she grumbled. 

"You didn't have a good time?" Bull asked.

"I certainly did," she assured him. "But the reason for it was less than amusing."

"I'm always around in case you need another dose," Bull told her, stirring up the fire.

"I appreciate that," she said.

Bull laughed. "They must teach you in princess training how to turn somebody down politely."

"They teach you nothing of use in princess training," Cassandra told him. "A princess must never seem to reject an offer outright."

"Water's hot," he said. "I imagine you won't reject a bath."

"Indeed I shall not," she told him, but when she went to the hearth, he knelt in front of her with a rag and perfumed soap and washed her clean. She nearly reached out to rest her hand on his head, but it seemed either too intimate or too condescending, so she left her hand curled loosely at her side as he trailed the rag down the inside of her thigh.

"Go take a nap," he told her when the last rosy traces of blood were gone from her skin. A temporary reprieve, she knew, but a welcome one. "You'll feel better after some sleep."

"I feel better already," she told him.

"Good," he said, getting up to dump the bloody water down the garderobe. 

She dressed herself as he washed himself with fresh water, humming to himself all the while. She lingered over her laces and buckles, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He finished and strode back to the bed, sweeping the cloak onto the floor and stretching out, his head resting on the same pillow she'd used. 

"You're welcome to keep me company if you want, Seeker," he said, eyes closed. "Plenty of room."

"Thank you, but I should go," she said, her hand on the handle of the door. "I am grateful for your help."

"The world's full of pain," he said. "Especially ours. Might as well do what I can to ease it."

She nodded, though he wasn't watching, and slipped out along the ramparts. She would take a nap. It seemed like the best course of action. Perhaps in a few days she would look through her collection of books and find one he might like. It would be a kind gesture. She climbed the stairs to her tidy pallet, which seemed even more spartan than usual after Bull's chamber, and stretched out. Perhaps she should have taken him up on his offer. It would not have to mean anything. The warmth of him would have soothed her if the cramps had come back.

She closed her eyes and slept, and her dreams were perfumed with sweat and sweet soap.


End file.
